No Choirboy

My lastest book I am reading is called Choirboy, by Susan Kuklin. The book is about the story of teenagers on deathrow. It is a truely moving book about what these kids did to get onto deathrow and how they handled it. This book also gives a very indepth look at prison life, without leaving out details that would normally be edited out like: Rape, murder, beat-downs, Gangs, brutal gaurds, and horrible living conditions. The first story is of a Kevin Gardner. Kevin was put on death row and he described what it was like. Kevin later describes that Regular prisions and DeathRow were two completely different animals so to speak. Death row is a band of brothers looking out for eachother, teaching eachother.Were as regular prision is a war zone with a 'dog eat dog mentality'. That is as far as I have gotten, but the book has captivated me from the moment I started reading the first page.

Warriors Don't Cry -Part 2-

     After the promise of the national guard being deployed to the high school, Melba and her family feel a slight sense of relief. However, on Monday, September 23, 1957, Melba returns to school to face an enormous mob that had formed in front of the school. After being escorted into not only the school, but also her class, Melba was brought to the principal’s office because the mob has broken the police lines and were heading for the school.
      Melba and the other black students waited nervously together as they listened to the ideas being proposed by the staff. One was bold enough to say that they should hang one child to save the others, but this idea was instantly rejected. The police officer, Gene Smith, escorts the kids out in police cars. Melba decides to stay home the next day. On the news, President Eisenhower announced he will use force to prevent this kind of mob rule and to enforce federal law. The next day, the 101st Airborne Division arrived in Little Rock to enforce peace. Each student was assigned to a soldier from the 101st Airborne Division. Melba’s solider, Danny, protected her from an attack that without his intervention, would have seriously injured Melba. After giving Melba important advice on how to survive, Danny told Melba that Eisenhower withdrew the 101st Airborne, and they would be forced to rely on the Arkansas National Guard for protection.

Indonisa Moving to Freedom of Expression

The Indonesian Constitutional Court issued a ruling last October 13 to strip the

attorney general of his power to censor and ban books. The Attourney General

has banned at least 22 books, including 13 history texts for middle schools and

high schools. These books were talking about a failed Communist coup of

September 30, 1965. This coup brought Suharto to power after the murder of

seven army generals.



 
Check out this site to see more details! :)
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Suharto's-law-prohibiting-freedom-of-expression-abolished-19740.html

My latest Choice read book

After finishing the Junction Boys, I had a hard time choosing which book I wanted to read next.

 I took about a week spending one day with each book I was considering. The book I ultimatly

decided appon was Warriors Don't Cry. 

So far Warrior Don't Cry is about a little girl named Melba Patillo Beals. Melba was born on December 7, 1941, in Little Rock, Arkansas, on the same day that Japanese troops bombed the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor. After a terrible infection which Melba barely survived, she went too live with her parents and her grandma. Both her parents and her grandma are good people who love her, in addition they are well educated with her mother obtaining a masters degree. 

Throughtout the early stages of the book, the reader follows Melba through her daily life which consists of school, chores, and segragation. A main discussion amoung the adults is the invisible line of what is acceptible for a black person to do to fight against the segragation, and what is over the limits. This line is clearly shown in the scene where Melba and her family get over charged at the grocers. After doing the math to figure out how much they had been charged extra, Melba's dad, a big man who worked on the railroad, go to confront the store owner. The store owner shouts at Melba's dad who instantly backs down knowing that he had gone to far. After that incident, Melba returns to school where they ask for any volunteers who wish to be part of the integreation of the All white highschool. Melba, not realizing the consequences of her actions, signs her name on the list of about 10 kids.

So far this book has kept my attention steadily with a good plot and interesting cast of characters. I hope that the rest of the book will be as good and I also look forward to the next choice read.

Choice Read Blog #2

"The Junction Boys" was an excellent book, with an interessting plot and unique characters. The book follows a man, Paul Byrant, known to most as 'The Bear' as he leads the Texas Aggies from a carrer without a win to a championship team in just three seasons.
     The first half of the book follows the original team as Paul takes them to Junction, the place designated for the hell week training. Junction, once a fertail ranch land is now a scorched barren wasteland with heat reaching 120. It then describes what happens to the players as the hard drills, heat, and lack of water take their toll.
    After Junction, the tale of the climb to power continues with a new cast of freshmen joining the team. During the jounrney, boys become men, and the unchangeble rock hard Bear grows more compationate. This book was not only a story of football, but also of rising up from poverty to a better life.

612937 My Book Junction Boys

The book I choose to read was called "The Junction Boys". I greatly like this book so far because I can relate to it having also played football. Also I can sympathize with there struggles and pain, this book greatly interests me and I often find myself reading it simply because I enjoy it, not because I have too.

The Reading History of Anthony Dembia

     As a child, I clearly remember detesting reading.  My hatred of reading was fueled simply by the fact that I saw no value in have the ability to read. My first book I can remember was "Floopy Mop". I loved the book because it was more picture than words. Ever since then I've read and enjoyed it greatly.

     My journey of reading has been an interessting one. I went throught parts of my life where all I would do was read all day. Other parts I would not even glance at the cover of a book. Currently I am neutral about reading, if it is a good book I will read it allot, but if it does not appeal to me I would not read it. My friends and family have definately influenced how I read, but in opposite ways. My mother is an avid reader and has always been. It was she who first got me into reading. My friends on the otherhand looked down on reading as something "nerds did", so this was what instigated the first time when I ceast to read for along time.

     As far as my goals for reading go, I want to be able to read certant books like "Ethics" by Aristotle and understand them. To reach this goal it will still take conciderable time, because recently I tried to read said book and failed. One day I hope to be able to read almost any piece of literature and understand it completely.